Calgary 1988 Opening Ceremony Highlights

[riverice7]

I was 16 years old when I watched this opening ceremony at it was really beautiful! well done, Calgary :)

[vitoduval]

This was the last Olympics that ABC (USA) ever telecast, RIP Jim McKay.

[vitasoy1437]

technology and time do change a lot of things... this is more parade / party like~ and people there obviously did have fun and were excited!! 

[6048733993]

no fair, they get dinosaurs

i want dinosaur at Whistler

[420knuckles]

420

[christopherlehmann16]

Best olympic games ever.

[Afterschok]

Watching this is like turning back the time. Just brilliant !

[kidder101]

Calgary and Alberta got a huge profit from these games!

[aric2007]

That's Hodori (mascot of Seoul 1988) in 02:39!

[obergom77]

my calgary Hero is Pirmin Zurbriggen

[aric2007]

Interesting to note on the Olympic Oaths:

In Calgary, the Athletes Oath (Pierre Harvey) was taken in French, while the Officials Oath (Suzanne Morrow-Francis) was taken in English.

In Vancouver, it was the other way around. Hayley Wickenheiser took the Athletes Oath in English, while Michel Verrault took the Officials Oath in French.

[193322009]

We missed the opening ceremonies on TV but this video shows that it looked to be a really fun and exciting ceremony.

Sadly, the closing ceremony, in our opinion, was the worst one we had ever seen.

It had way too much rock and roll music.

That kind of music seems out of place at the

Olympics.

[hustlerman5]

are you talking about the vancouver 2010 olympic games that just happend? This is calgary 22 years ago

[djnormal]

@193322009 This is the opening ceremony from Calgary 1988, not Vancouver 2010. :)

[nosuchpersonvideo]

@djnormal Surprising isn't it that someone can't tell the difference between 1988 and 2010 or that the words "Calgary 88" are blasted all over this video. :)

[Sonie1997]

Uhhhhhh, you do know that this is the Calgary Olympics that are shown here (which by the way happened 22 years ago in 1988) and if you are talking about the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, those happened about a month ago. I repeat this video is 22 years old, from Calgary, NOT Vancouver.

[simbasa12]

hahahaahahaaaaaa this is hilarious.

[AmericanRuffian]

So is it Cal-GUR-Y or Cal-GAR-Y?

[Chewyhairball]

It's CAL-GRY, us calgarians only use 2 syllables.

[193322009]

Then why not spell it that way?

[JET997u]

I bet those overgrown chicken things felt pretty stupid.

[LaurenAnyone]

Wow what a difference 22 years make...

Both the Vancouver and the Calgary Opening Ceremonies were fantastic in their own ways. Calgary looked fun, and so very 80s haha. And Vancouver was modern and "emotional". Who knows? It'll probably look dated in 20 years too. :)

[retroman360]

do you think the olympics are going to come back to calgary?

[pitomba125]

i really hope so sonce i wasnt around when the olympics were held here in calgary but it is pretty unlikely.

[nosuchpersonvideo]

@retroman360 I have no doubt of it. Just can't say when. Toronto wants the Summer Olympics, but keeps losing. Quebec City wants the Winter Olympics, but their main mountain isn't quite tall enough (they'd have to build a ramp to add about 30 meters). And other than Vancouver and Montreal, both of which have hosted Olympics, those are about the only Canadian cities that can realistically host the Olympics.

[syoon115]

This is just like a corny circus...Compare 88 Seoul Olympic Ceremony!!

[shyangelpass]

lol awesome

[Hail2TheVictorsBaby]

lol - Is this a circus or an Olympic opening ceremony?

[johnson1095]

Exactly what i thought.

[aric2007]

Canada didn't win any gold medals here in Calgary, but seeing their performance in Vancouver, IT WAS AMAZING. So far, Canada won 5 golds in Vancouver.

[pitomba125]

14 now

[aric2007]

Oh yeah, that's right... That's ALL the golds they have... I love it. Good job, Canada.

[rapjaddseo]

You want to see every game on live from the comfort of your home ? watch them here

watch?v=0mqgQliWK1I

[johnson1095]

WOW! Compared to the opening ceremonies of rescent years (Torino, Bejjing, Vancouver, etc.), this looks like CRAP! no offense to anybody who's canadian or who happen to be canadian.

[broole]

It was 1988 fool ... what did you expect

[souljaLOVE]

lol Im Canadian and i agree with you lol i dunnop why u got soo many thumbss down.

[johnson1095]

thanx for the message.

[johnson1095]

Thanx for the message!

What part of canada are you from and is it tru that canada has free healthcare without bankrupting the country?

I really need a comeback for my extremely conservative Govt. teacher as to how we can have universal healthcare and not go bunkrupt!

[pitomba125]

i am from calgary, and canada Sort of has free healthcare. At least when I got sick 4 years ago and had to be hospitalized for 6 weeks in intensive care I didn't pay any money...I say sort of because we pay higher taxes to cover it....but from the way you would look at it,,,yes,,,it is like having free health care...When I am sick I just go to a doctor I choose....No payments involved. and remember that canada only has a population of 14 million. much less people to give healthcare to.

[pitomba125]

sorry i meant canada has a population of 32 million alberta has 14 million

[Molejunkie]

Sorry, Alberta dose not make up almost half of Canada's population

[zen8313]

Canada's population is about 33 million. Alberta's is about 3.

[KingCuongL]

@pitomba125 Our province (Alberta) has approximately 3.7 million peoples as of the last quarter of 2009 according to our government's quarterly demographics survey.

[KingCuongL]

@pitomba125 Our province (Alberta) has approximately 3.7 million peoples as of the last quarter of 2009 according to our government's quarterly demographics survey.

[nosuchpersonvideo]

@pitomba125 It is Ontario that has 14 million (well, a bit under that). Ontario is the most populous province. All of Western Canada (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) has a population of just over 10 million. Alberta has under 4 million.

[johnson1095]

Fuck the haters.

[pitomba125]

haha i agree i am from calgary but i wasnt around to see the olympics but i think that was pretty good for 1988. its really too bad they dont use the ski jump in canada olympic park anymore...if you've never seen it then search it on google images.

[legija83]

Did Calgary get shelled by French-Canadian separatists in 1992?

[yorkster88]

I have wonderful memories of the 88 Olympics. It's amazing though how old things look when you look at this footage compared to your memory! The 88 and '10 openings are a product of our times. Everything is bigger and the bar is constantly raised. Contrary to some of the negative media reports, the Vancouver Games are fantastic with a volunteer team second to none, and will share a legacy much like Calgary's (I'm not talking about budget cause that's another product of our times!).

[aric2007]

Just saw Rick Hansen there. He also would carry the Olympic Flame into the Stadium in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics OC.

[aric2007]

Calgary and Vancouver both have good opening ceremonies.

[jamesfishin]

Vacoc wishes there Olympics there were as good as Calgary's. We did not have to hire people to work them, we did not have protests, or spend millions to make sure poeple were safe. Be proud Calgary you did a bang up job and people that want to bash it vs Vancover have no clue what a real party is.

[nosuchpersonvideo]

@jamesfishin All Olympic committees have to hire people to organize the Games. It takes 6-7 years to organize an Olympics. They all require 1000s of volunteers during the events, but you need full time staff going at it for years before the Olympics to plan all the details - from planning schedules to designing torches and everything in between - to make it all work.

[woodchuck1022]

What a crazy party! I love Calgary!!!

[theglowpt4]

winter games was the best olympic song ever, the vancouver one is so weak it's funny.

[threeeels]

0:30 LMFAO

[mellowboy23]

This was weird... Very 80's but still weird

[Niloc97]

this looks so bad and embarassing compared to thr vancouver ceremony!

[countrygal1212]

Wrong! It was a magnificent achievement for the people of Calgary. In it's context it was profound and moving - an experience I will never forget. Don't be so quick to judge something that took place in the pre-computer age. Remember J P Hartley... 'The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there'

[pjacobo]

the Calgary Olympic song is a great song unlike the utterly unimpressive and forgettable Vancouver song (but the Vancouver opening ceremony was awesome - at after the athletes came in)

[GateStudios]

For the first time ever, the Governor General declared the games open. If President Reagan could declare the Games open, maybe the Governor General could...

[yiannisgreendog]

I live in Calgary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!

[CanadaguyRudey]

This ceremony was more exciting then the PC Crap in Vancouver.

[vdublu909]

After just watching 88 here...you must be frickin joking??

Hopefully this nation can win a gold this time hosting!!!

[lovehockey64]

Ah no he's not joking because I think that any 10 year old could put off what was done in Vancouver. The Calgary games were also far more exciting as well. At least they have athletes with personality. After watching the figure skating last night I am reminded of why I stopped watching it when Elivs retired. Not one of them have any personality at all--dull and boring like robots to watch--certainly not like Browning, Orser, Boitano, Stojko, Plushenko etc.

[Beeyatchibus]

Gotta love the dancing dinosaurs.

[UkeaOP]

@Beeyatchibus that's what they were! I thought they were some strange mutated cactus. :P Vancouver opening was 10x better even with the olympic cauldron screwup.

[pdhilly]

One of them most successful Olympics ever!

[ShortCircuit11]

oh god... c'mon canada, tell me the ceremonies this friday are gonna be way more kick ass. i hope they manage to show off the cultural diversity here, thats really what defines us.

[csfuntime]

This was 1988 - a much different era. Not much diversity there at that time. In comparison to present day that is. :-(

[BigFamilyDream]

Good as a warm up for Vancouver !

[witkahp]

Wpadłem na ten kawałek przypadkiem i wróciły tamte miłe chwile.

[JustMeHere9]

Where is the portion of the ceremony where Ian Tyson sang "Four Strong Winds". I can't find it anywhere on all the footage for the 1988 Opening Ceremonies.

[batmous]

I think thisisabadname uploaded it. He uploaded the entire opening ceremony of Calgary 1988...even the commercials.

[dadarkenedmoon]

Could anyone tell me who the person at 4:18 was and why the camera panned to him so randomly?

[CrazyElectoneSteven]

A that time, he was the Prime Minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney.

[ryesgurl]

brian mulroney?

[redmileAA]

@dadarkenedmoon Brian Mulorney..Former Prime Minister of Canada

[limechow]

@dadarkenedmoon  - Was that former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney?

[pjacobo]

@limechow - yes that was Mulroney

[amunre5]

@dadarkenedmoon

the camera panned to Her Excellency The Right Honourable Madme Jeanne Sauvé. Governor General of Canada

[bratseth2]

i remember the 1988 olympics in calgary very well. they and the 1994 games in lillehammer were in my opinion the best winter games ever. as for this i am looking out to the games in vancouver with great expectations. hopefully with my german athletes in the top 3 again.

[DavidChavezOrtiz]

I can´t believe that Feist was dancing between that dancers. I seen on Wikipedia and she was 12 years old.

[pao1233]

@DavidChavezOrtiz wtf really thats amazing

[ghostgrabber]

I remember Feb 13th 1988 like it was yesterday.

[wl03bu]

wait wait... they acknowledged Rick Hansen but didn't let him carry the flame a part of the way?!?

[redmileAA]

I was there....

[cody502]

Hopefully 2010 will match Beijing(is that how you spell it?)

Go Canada!

[paskatefan]

Thank you! What a treat to see this again. So many great moments - Brian Orser as flag bearer (I'm an American, but I wanted Brian to win the gold medal - Brian B. was fabulous too - anyway Brian's been a great pro skater and now a great coach), the Olympic Hymn, David Foster's terrific "Winter Games" theme, etc. Wow!!!!

[garycalgary]

i still remember it watching it from grande prairie I was 18

[stagemouth]

China's opening games got nothin' on you Calgary '88! Go Canada!!! Check out the cymbal guy at 1:13... hilarious!

[ddavenport]

Hopefully, Vancouver's OC will be way better, if Beijing's ceremonies were any indication...

[JPPT1974]

To be honest, nobody can ever top Beijing. After what they spent at $40B for the games!

[grapesofwraith1066]

I suppose in a certain sense. But their opening was very...militaristic, which while I found very cool, it felt lacking in something. Maybe the it's the "party" aspect of it, but we'll see what happens next year!

[Peachez87]

Money can't buy creativity. It helps, but doesn't define it.

[vdven]

lmao at the dancing dinosaurs.

ultimate cheese.

[JPPT1974]

Notice at 2:40, the Seoul Summer Olympic mascot, Hodori the Tiger! One of my favorite Olympic mascots.

[excelsior27]

Yes I do see! How fitting that that happened, it's too bad that the IOC separated the winter and summer Games after 1992 the likeihood of this happening again would be VERY low now.

(Let's hope London picked their mascot already and show it in 2010 Vancouver IN THE WINTER GAMES IN PERSON when they introduce their delagates. That would make someone smile!)

[sk8allo]

DOWN UNDEERRRR

[zen8313]

Bahaha... I vaguely remember this. Awesome and cheesy.

[IH8WRONGPPL]

As long as we medal in hockey, the rest of the Olympics don't matter to me and the sports are barely watched anyway, basketball is popular but it's always USA winning anyway.

Figure skating, meh. Triathalons, meh. Swimming, meh...etc

Just not a big deal if we don't medal, and in any event, it's the athlete's responsibility to medal, not the government.

Just because ALL they want to do is train, TFB, get a job and train, live with your parents if you have to, jeez.

[joelpel1]

I think it is about time Canada has to change its selection rules. Maybe it is time to give more people chances. Have you seen Team USA's gymnasts (mens division)? I just hope Canadian sports committee do something about this rather than hearing lots of 'excuses' during the Olympics for being a "laggard".

[joelpel1]

Do not expect too much at the Vancouver 2010, you may get disappointed just like what we are seeing with the medal drought in the Canadian contigents in Beijing Olympics. Canada is the only Olympic host country that has never won any gold medal both in Calgary and Montreal.

[Motigflames]

I wonder where you were in Turino and Salt lake.

Look up "own the podium"

Canada hopes to be 1st overall in medals.

[joelpel1]

Host country Italy (Torino) had 5 gold medals, Host country USA (Salt Lake) had 10 gold medals.

Both "1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, the Canadian team failed to win a gold medal, matching only former Yugoslavia in the dubious distinction of not having won an Olympic winter gold medal on home soil".

[Motigflames]

Untill 2010.

We plan to be 1st overall in toyal medals.

[LordDavid04]

Your forgetting Sarajevo 1984.

[joelpel1]

canada is still a laggard compared to its g7 counterparts.

[flamencoandy]

Canada has a 10th of the population of other countries, it's amazing they win medals at all, but they do. Who cares if it's on home soil.

[nosuchpersonvideo]

@flamencoandy Canada's population of 33 million is more of the median. There is only one country we are tenth of - the USA. But we are on about par with Poland, Uganda, Algeria, Morocco. Canada is the 36th most populous country in a world of over 200 countries. What is amazing is places like Norway or Austria. They have small populations but kill at the Winter Olympics. Or Hungary...they excel at the Summer Olympics. And all three have less than 10 million each. And then there's Australia! :)

[Motigflames]

I was there, and for it's day it was considered a great ceremony. Plus Calgary has done a excellent job of maintaining it's facilities.

One day they will get the games again.

[Nacholympic]

Indeed, Canada will host the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. I Hope this to be great!!!

[Motigflames]

No I meant Calgary will get them back one day.

[JPPT1974]

Hopefully it will be awesome as Calgary was. Good luck in 2010 my friend!

[Motigflames]

@Nacholympic Iwastalking about Calgary.....oddly enough Ilive in Vancouver, and the 21 winter games were great as well.

[fireworks990]

the old days lighting sux.

[rockies77]

Man, does it look cheesy now, in comparison to what is shown in later Olympic Games opening ceremonies nowadays?

Yeah, texting965, it was big at its time because, to some, it followed Los Angeles 1984 and that city's way of doing the opening ceremony then.

[slayalicence]

yeah :P like the sydney or bejing ones.

[slayalicence]

god is this the 1988 game.hope the 2010 opening is waaaaaay better.:P but thats just me,i like nice big openings like the bejing ones :P

[texting965]

If I'm not right this was big for its time. Compare this one to Sarajevo opening Ceremonies.

In every new host City they just get beter and better.